Nanny State is Coming

Radley Balko gives important details on our growing police state (thanks to Scott Tibbs for the link).

Another link included in Balko's piece is equally alarming. Be sure to read also about Cory Maye's fate.

We all need to be outraged about this and do something to save this man's life.

Living as Strangers and Aliens

I was thinking about my last post about movie critics slapping a PG-rating on a Christian movie to warn others about its Christian message. As Christians living in a freedom-based society, we balk at that. We love our first amendment rights as citizens and cherish the republic created by visionaries such as Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. Yet, Christians have always known that the message they carry and the passion within them is inimical to the values of the world. The only way to remain a popular citizen is to keep that message silent. It's not Christ if its kept to yourself, though, right? Christ is from the holy God and he demands that Earth's inhabitants "Go and sin no more." We are to take on Christ, dying to ourselves by abandoning all unrighteous behavior and submitting to doing God's will while we are on this planet. As if that wasn't enough to keep us out of the cool clique, Jesus further commanded us to share that self-denying lifestyle with others so that they too may share in the blessed afterlife that we have been promised as redeemed children of God.

That said, it should come of no surprise when our message is villified as dangerous and unpopular. Calling people to repentance is like spoiling that party that non-Christians are having now. We're asking them to save the celebration for later and most are unwilling. It's no wonder we are ridiculed in all areas of the media and, increasingly, by the government. First amendment rights are fine for people who aren't on the edge--not so fine for people who say uncouth messages and continue to speak publicly. Christians are lucky, not deserving, to still enjoy free speech.

I'm just surpised we've enjoyed such calmness for so long.

Warn Parents about Christian Message?

This shouldn't be too surprising, I suppose, in the modern-day society we live in. Christianity is too rigid; pious folks need to open their minds. So, just how exactly are Christians being punished now?

Movies with strong Christian themes will now get a PG rating to alert parents to a message that might run counter to their beliefs. Read about how the clean-cut movie Facing the Giants got its PG "warning".

I guess that's what we have to expect from an unbelieving world.

Global Warming a Political Scare

Here's an enlightening article by Tom Harris that appeared in the Canada Free Press June 12, 2006. Mr. Harris gives us the low-down on global warming and all the hype surrounding it.

Hint: It has to do more with politics (i.e., communism) than it does science.

Car Sales Down

I suppose for many, the news that domestic car sales dropped last quarter could be cause for concern. However, considering that the sales that dropped the most for Ford were SUVs and big trucks, I don't see much wrong with such news. I'm no economist, but I like to hear Americans are reigning in their spending, especially considering that American net spending dropped to 0 % last year and that a coming fuel shortage looms in the too near future.

American households own multiple cars, on average. I've never understood the train of the thought to purchase a new car when the value declines so sharply year after year. A home is a smart investment because with a few yearly repairs, your home not only maintains its value, but oftentimes, the value increases significantly after a few decades. Your car, if it survives, is worth little after one decade. Knowing this, why do so many purchase brand new cars, when so many cars are available used?

For those that live close to work or school and don't need to haul a group of kids around, walking and biking make good alternative means of transportation. Reducing gas usage hurts Arab terrorists and it gets some much needed exercise.

Car sales may be down, but what about bike sales?

It's not compassion when it's not your dough

World Magazine Weblog offers a great post that questions the motives of evangelicals who are willing to accept public funds in the name of compassion. It may seem like compassion, but it's not conservative. This is one issue where I thought I differed from World's editors on. (World's editor-in-chief, Marvin Olasky, partnered with President Bush to usher in the concept of "compassionate conservatism").

Not only is it wrong to take public funds and use them in a way that many would object to morally, but it is definitely wrong for churches to become tied to government. When that happens, be ready for biblical teaching to go by the wayside.

And besides--who wants government to be in charge of what churches and non-profits do so much more efficiently?

***It is worth noting that the idea Olasky engineered, compassionate conservatism, has little in common with what liberals have done with the concept. I doubt that Olasky wanted church corruption or more governmental bureacracy. Rather, Olasky probably envisioned a day when churches would be called upon by the government to do more of what they already do. For example, Prison Fellowship ministries trains prisoners on a voluntary basis to reduce the rate of recidivism. They have been in the news lately because liberal groups like the ACLU object to the Prison Fellowship emphasis on Jesus as the way to true personal healing, even though prisoners participate in this program on a completely volunteer basis. But I, like Olasky, I'm sure, agree that there is little or no true healing without Christ. Statistics prove that. So why not let groups like Prison Fellowship operate with a bigger budget to keep doing what they already do better than government? The reasons I give are listed above and as you can predict, with government money comes government strings. What starts out as a church project becomes a watered-down, expensive, ineffective government attempt at changing humanity.

Good idea, but I just don't have faith that compassionate conservatism can ever be truly safeguarded from big-government liberals.